Summary:

It is difficult being a Spice Girl in their new movie and feature-length music video, SPICE WORLD: THE MOVIE. Not only do they have trouble finding what clothes to wear, they wrestle with their own images, find their manager stifling, and don't know whether or not to hold a concert or be present as a girlfriend is about to have a baby. Poorly written and poorly acted with skimpy costumes and mild sexual antics, this movie is nothing more than vapid eye candy to cash in on the Spice Girls' fifteen minutes of fame.

Review:

It is difficult being a Spice Girl in the new movie and feature length music video, SPICE WORLD: THE MOVIE. Not only do they have trouble finding what clothes to wear; but, they also have to wrestle with their own images, find their manager stifling and don't know what to do about holding a concert when their friend is about to have a baby. Furthermore, angry press are trying to come up with a scandal about the girls and that could hurt their fifteen minutes of fame. SPICEWORLD: THE MOVIE is nothing more than a marketing tool to attract pre-teenage girls and boys to the theaters so that the SPICE GIRLS can cash in on their short-lived fame. Clearly modeled after The Beatles' A HARD DAY'S NIGHT, which displayed genuine talent and humor, this movie offers nothing more than a series of badly-acted and contrived events, as the girls embark on a tour leading up to a concert at London's Albert Hall. During the show, the girls try on each other's clothes, go to parties, chat with a pregnant friend, meet famous people who adore them like Elton John and Bob Geldorf, take contest winners out on a boat ride, and avoid the paparazzi. All this much-ado about nothing could be forgiven if the girls had acting talent or the script had a genuine story, but the movie plays like a slapped-together job underlining their very precarious fame which is based solely on a skilled marketing campaign to maximize the girls' physical attributes. Some of these girls have a decent voice, but that really doesn't seem to matter. They are a pop phenomenon, who strut a vapid feminism called "girl power" and tease the boys with their sexuality. SPICE WORLD is a pretty benign, albeit stupid movie. The girls talk loudly, make goofy comments and try to demonstrate compassion by their presence when their single girlfriend gives birth. Yet, under all the fun is an undertone of brash sexuality which may be too strong for young girls and boys who are trying to control their rampaging hormones. The Spice Girls wear skimpy clothing, dance around, talk about boys (although they aren't shown to be engaged in any romances on the tour) and make jokes about how animals mate in the wild. For a PG child-targeted movie, the most alarming scene is when Chippendale type dancers reveal bare buttocks during a dance music video in Italy. Though sexual attitudes in Europe may be lax, and this scene could be a big laugh there, it will shock many mothers in America. The buzz surrounding SPICE WORLD: THE MOVIE is that it was rushed into release because the girls are having internal strife, potentially causing an imminent breakup. Like pop soda and candy, it contains a certain sweetness, if you like loud and goofy English girls, but it has no educational, nutritional or lasting value. It is all eye candy and no substance, but, then again, they know this all too well and are merely cashing in on their moment of fame.

In Brief:

SPICEWORLD: THE MOVIE is nothing more than a marketing tool to attract pre-teenage girls and boys to the theaters so that the SPICE GIRLS can cash in on their short-lived fame. Clearly modeled after The Beatles' A HARD DAY'S NIGHT, which displayed genuine talent, this movie offers nothing more than a series of badly-acted and contrived events, as the girls embark on a tour leading up to a concert at London's Albert Hall. During the show, the girls try on each other's clothes, go to parties, chat with a pregnant friend, meet famous people, take contest winners out on a boat ride, and avoid the paparazzi. All this much-ado about nothing could be forgiven if the girls had acting talent or the script had a genuine story, but the movie is slapped-together, underlining their very precarious fame which is based solely on a skilled marketing campaign to maximize the girls' physical attributes. Some of these girls have a decent voice, but that really doesn't matter. They are a pop phenomenon, who strut a vapid feminism called "girl power" while teasing boys with their sexuality. In one scene, male dancers display their derrieres. This movie is all eye candy and no substance, but, then again, the creators know this all too well.